Forum Activity for @johnny-barnas

random what if's....

General Talk

If I owned my own place (Im only 18) I would absolutely let said couple stay at my place! I love to meet new people and have new expreinces with them! Now in the case of taking them out to dinner every night and feeding them on my own accord, well if I had the money I would. But simply put, if the couple is willing to chip in and help make their presence a little more easy on my house/money ect. then by all means, sleep on my couch!!

So far, I have talked to some really cool people with dreads, and have had some great experiences with them. I met this dude in the adirondacs in upstante New York with 13 year old natural dreads, and he was a really great guy. Gave me the nickname "baby dreads"

Restart fresh, or hold tight with a year?

Dreadlocks Journey Emotional Support

yea you guys are all right, and why i didnt see it before is beyond me.

after I backcombed almost every single "dread" came totally apart into regular hair to reform its natural way, so i really have had the experience of watching them grow and form on their own, and i really love it.

I am experiencing the true journey of growing locks, just from a different starting point. I planted the seed for the tree rather than wait for it to grow. In the end, it will still come out as my own unique "tree"

Im gonna throw some beads in them to help spice things up a bit, because I think thats what I need. Just a bit of change ya know

Thnaks everyone so much.

Restart fresh, or hold tight with a year?

Dreadlocks Journey Emotional Support

ahhh very smart. maybe ill look for a big wooden bead, get a tribal looking going!

Restart fresh, or hold tight with a year?

Dreadlocks Journey Emotional Support

thanks guys

As usual, after posting i said to myself, what the hell am I thinking? and you guys saying what you did reassured me. Because although I did backcomb, probably 90% of them came undone and redreaded naturally anyway, and ive got a bunch with insane kinks ends and flippy doo dahs that im in love with.

I think what I might do is maybe throw some beads and such in em to spice things up a bit. I think im just craving a bit of change, and throwing in some beads and ties and such will definatly help

Any suggestions? Ive got a couple that are real thick so I cant think of anything to put on them

Again, thanks alot

Love

Restart fresh, or hold tight with a year?

Dreadlocks Journey Emotional Support

So Im about a year in from backcombing, and Ive been doing alot of thinking lately, and I have now poised myself the ultimate question...should I keep my backcombed locks, or restart and go natural?

Ive been feeling like I haven't got the real experience of growing dreadlocks. Due to the unnatural backcombing, they started out long, and I never got to experience the short dreads, nor being able to watch them grow naturally like trees from my head. The idea of going totally natural is so appealing to me, but I seemed to be attached to my one year backcombs. To be completely honest, I just dont think Im happy with my backcombs. After about the first month, it never really felt like I had dreads.

So my question to the oh so wise people of this forum, is in your opinions, should I cut and regrow, or just stick out my one year combs?

One year in dread time is not alot at all, so I know my backcombs still have a wayssss to go before they start tidying up and looking nice. Is it worth it to wait? Or should I just jump into dark waters, and cut to regrow naturally? My hair is quite straight and doesnt really knot very well. Even before I had dreads I never really combed my hair unless to go to a nice party, and I never had many knots. This being when it was quite long though, and if I cut my dreads now my hair would be quite short, which I feel might help the process a bit.

My dilema is that I think Id be happier with my natural locks if I grew them out, but theres no way to tell what they would look like, even if they did form. Plus the idea of having to explain to obnoxious amounts of people asking OOO WHY DID YOU CUT THEM?????? is something i would like to avoid, but will brave it if necessary.

Im also considering maybe cutting them to almost half the length they are now, but i figure if im gonna cut them I might as well go all the way...

Ohhh what to do...

updated by @johnny-barnas: 01/13/15 09:08:38PM

How to use aloe

Dread Maintenance

ahhh okay

the aloe can wait

thanks!

soaring eagle said:

why are you tidying up typur dreads?

if your dreads are younf]g you shouldnt unless u really really have to

like a wedding or formal event

why cause aloe conditions and will slow progress anfd proloung the messy stages

now if u really must then just smear it on or spray it on or palm rioll (whatever the heck that is i still never figured that out) it on it dont matter as long as its on as it dries it shrinks and opulls everything in

i would not bother unless u have a weedding or somerthing to go to

How to use aloe

Dread Maintenance

I would like to tidy my dreads up a bit and everyone says that aloe works nice for that.

After I extract the gel from the aloe vera leaf, how should I go about getting it in my dreads?

I imagine youd palm roll, but how much per dread?

Thanks!!

updated by @johnny-barnas: 01/13/15 09:08:37PM

Almost a year...but with some iffys

Dreadlocks Journey Emotional Support

you would think that after a year id learn that when you get into the OHMYGODOHMYGOD freak out, your judgment is never clear. I didnt even think of the thickness relative to length, so trimming them would probably actually make them look worse. Glad I have you guys to talk to.

I did wash them this morning, and its a very rainy humid day, so that definatly added to the messyness.

I think ill maybe roll a bit of aloe into them to help shape them a bit, because this one on my left side has a massive kink in it. Plus even if it doesnt do much, i think the placebo effect of me thinking that its gonna help tighten them up will at least calm my brain.

Plus my dreads are screaming for the ocean. I havent been to the beach in ages and im dying to go, so once I get out there that will help out too.

Almost a year...but with some iffys

Dreadlocks Journey Emotional Support

Lately, it seems that my dreads have been moving backwards more than forwards. And although I understand that this is a part of dreading, to be totally honest, lately I just really havent been happy with how they look.

Its hard for me to say, because I really love them for what they are and what they have taught me, but I just dont really like how they look, which as lame as it sounds, its pretty important to me how they look. I could say that its not about the look, its about the essence, which is of course party true, but how they look is a big part.I guess everyone in the beginning starts off wanting those perfect dreads, but you learn as you go along that its not about them being the "perfect" you want. You learn to accept them for what they are.

So to get to the point and spare you the philosophical rant Im about to go on, I was thinking about maybe cutting them. No, not chopping them off, but rather "trimming" and shortening the length of them. The big reason that contributes to me not liking the look, is theyre very messy. Theyre not defined, and all the loose hair everywhere just makes them look very disorganized and messy. Which I havent minded so much up until now. Im starting college and I would like to have a somewhat "nice" look to my head, while still keeping the dreads. And Id be lying if I said that Im not getting a little impatient. I rarley wear them down anymore because of how they look, and usually have them tied back or in a tam. And Ive had my fare share of people telling me theyre nice, as well as the opposite, and bless those who say theyre nice, but "nice" for me, has to start with me. If I dont think theyre nice, then its hard to listen to other people. Where as If I think theyre nice, nobody else really matters.

Is it a bad idea to trim them? I feel like if i shorten them to around where the dread itself is maturley and naturally knotted and get rid of the loose hair at the bottom, it will help spruce them up a bit, which for most is about halfway down from the scalp. I never got to expereince the energy of short dreads because they were backcombed long, so I would also like to cut them for that reason. As well as trimming them I feel would give me a new connection to them, as well as changing things up a bit to get a fresh energy.

Any advice would be helpful

Thanks for reading

One Love

updated by @johnny-barnas: 01/13/15 09:08:25PM

my first comment and it wasn't nice:(

General Talk

well hey, if it makes you feel any better, I had a whole deli of crazy old Italian people laughing at me thinking my dreads were a wig!!!

Dont let people get to you. Almost all of the time the only reason people say anything is because they are jelous, and I have seen your locs and hot damn im even jelous!!!

Ive learned to laugh at any sort of insult like soaring eagle is suggesting. Because when you laugh and dont let it phase you, they lose. Totally.

Love to your dreads and respect to not having to say anything back to somebody mean, because Im the same way!!! It takes me about 5 minutes till im shoooot i should have said this! But by then it doesnt matter and Im laughing at how i cant make comebacks for sh*t